When did I lose my faith

No, this isn’t a post about spirituality. This is about my faith in the political system.

It might have been 1992. I expected and hoped for a Labour victory. There was a bold and clear manifesto. It would have heralded a change in direction. Things could have been very different. In the end the result wasn’t even close.

It might have been the forlorn promise of New labour. The joy at seeing the political map turn red. The slow miasma as I realised there was no longer a right or a left, only a middle way in the political spectrum.

It might have been the despair as promises were thrown away in 2010 for the sake of stability. As half-truths about the economy and the deficit were used to stigmatize and hurt the most vulnerable in society.

It might be that the first past the post system is antiquated and not representative of the electorate. It might be that a more proportional representation of the electorate, would allow extreme political views more power.

I have lost my faith in the system.

But it is a system that allows me to voice this. And vote by vote, election by election, my faith resurfaces and I hope.